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Published in: Inflammation 6/2017

01-12-2017 | ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Transgenic Mice Overexpressing Vitamin D Receptor (VDR) Show Anti-Inflammatory Effects in Lung Tissues

Authors: Masaki Ishii, Yasuhiro Yamaguchi, Kyoko Isumi, Sumito Ogawa, Masahiro Akishita

Published in: Inflammation | Issue 6/2017

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Abstract

Vitamin D insufficiency is increasingly recognized as a prevalent problem worldwide, especially in patients with a chronic lung disease. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a type of chronic inflammatory lung disease. Previous clinical studies have shown that COPD leads to low vitamin D levels, which further increase the severity of COPD. Vitamin D homeostasis represents one of the most important factors that potentially determine the severity of COPD. Nonetheless, the mechanisms underlying the anti-inflammatory effects of vitamin D receptor (VDR) in lung tissues are still unclear. To investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of VDR, we generated transgenic mice that show lung-specific VDR overexpression under the control of the surfactant protein C promoter (TG mice). The TG mice were used to study the expression patterns of proinflammatory cytokines using real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry. The TG mice had lower levels of T helper 1 (Th1)-related cytokines than wild-type (WT) mice did. No significant differences in the expression of Th2 cytokines were observed between TG and WT mice. This study is the first to achieve lung-specific overexpression of VDR in TG mice: an interesting animal model useful for studying the relation between airway cell inflammation and vitamin D signaling. VDR expression is an important factor that influences anti-inflammatory responses in lung tissues. Our results show the crucial role of VDR in anti-inflammatory effects in lungs; these data are potentially useful for the treatment or prevention of COPD.
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Metadata
Title
Transgenic Mice Overexpressing Vitamin D Receptor (VDR) Show Anti-Inflammatory Effects in Lung Tissues
Authors
Masaki Ishii
Yasuhiro Yamaguchi
Kyoko Isumi
Sumito Ogawa
Masahiro Akishita
Publication date
01-12-2017
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Inflammation / Issue 6/2017
Print ISSN: 0360-3997
Electronic ISSN: 1573-2576
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10753-017-0641-2

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